We know what the Founding Fathers said, but what did they mean? That’s the question Thomas G. Westasks, then answers, in The Political Theory of the American Founding: Natural Rights, Public Policy, and the Moral Conditions of Freedom.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, West interprets the phrase “all men are created,” explains how a slaveholder such as Thomas Jefferson could have written those words, and speculates on what the Founders would think of 21st-century America.

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The Atlantic’s David Frum joins NTK to evaluate Trump’s first nearly 100 days. Mona plays Devil’s advocate with Frum, a Trump critic – at least for a while. Jay engages David about the French elections, and then conversation turns to the March for Science, O’Reilly, FoxNews, the Detroit Tigers, and David Selznick.

“University Challenge” is a British quiz show, watched all over the world (particularly on YouTube). A major star of the recent season was Eric Monkman, of Oakville, Ontario. He was the captain of a Cambridge team. And he wowed the world with — as Jay says — “his amazingly extensive knowledge; his unaffected, individualistic style; and his obvious generosity of spirit.”

A hashtag flew through the Internet: #monkmania. Jay confesses, happily, that he is a monkmaniac.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the pressure mounting on the Democratic National Committee to spend big on every special House election, despite long odds in most of them. They also unload on University of California-Berkeley administrators for cancelling a speech by Ann Coulter over security concerns instead of cracking down on students and faculty threatening to disrupt the event. And they address the latest twist in leftist conspiracy theories, as liberals contend Rep. Jason Chaffetz decided not to seek re-election because he’s being blackmailed by Russia.

Ricochet Editor-in-Chief Jon Gabriel and Heatstreet’s Stephen Miller talk about Bill O’Reilly’s departure from Fox News, the problems with conservative media, and the impact of the special election in Georgia Congressional District 6.

Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to a new survey showing the vast majority of Trump voters are satisfied or pleasantly surprised by his performance thus far, despite news reports to the contrary. They also roll their eyes at suggestions that today’s special House election in Georgia is somehow a national referendum on Trump or the GOP. And they’re not at all surprised to learn that higher minimum wages in San Francisco are leading to more restaurant closures.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Eliot explains what make Heston such a compelling figure on screen, picks his favorite Heston movie (it’s a surprise), and describes Heston’s friendship with Ronald Reagan.

Jay and Mona speak of normality (which they like in President Trump), the role of in-laws, how much religion is too much in an Indiana school, Steve Bannon, and a tribute to two of Mona’s current favorite shows.

Venezuela is spinning out of control: starvation, desperation, chaos, fear. Hannah Dreier, the Associated Press correspondent in Caracas, is in the midst of it. In a briefing with Jay, she gives us the latest.

What does the latest include? The slums – the ruling party’s strongholds – turning against the party. The supreme court nullifying the congress. And then reversing itself. Opposition politicians seeking refuge in embassies. People getting thinner and thinner. People trying to leave, if they possibly can. Grandmothers protesting in the streets, along with the youth – something very rare.

Ian Tuttle of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America enjoy waching Democrats snipe at each other, as liberals blame the national party for not doing more to win the special election in Kansas. They’re also a bit dizzy from President Trump appearing to shift positions on Chinese currency manipulation, the Export-Import Bank, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, the relevance of NATO and more – all on the same day. And they slam students at the University of Notre Dame for complaining it won’t be safe there when Vice President Mike Pence gives the commencement address next month

Ricochet Editor-in-Chief Jon Gabriel and Heatstreet’s Stephen Miller talk about President Trump’s strike on Syria, his saber rattling on North Korea, and the fecklessness of Obama’s foreign policy team.

Ian Tuttle of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America cheer the resignation of Alabama GOP Gov. Robert Bentley and a new poll showing the nation’s ten most popular governors are all Republicans. They also get to the bottom line of what went wrong on the United Airlines flight – quick escalation of hostilities and a failure to let capitalism solve the problem. And they get a kick out of Oregon possibly removing a ban on dueling from the state constitution.

Fifty years ago, the New York Review of Books savaged Making It, the 1967 memoir by Norman Podhoretz–and now, amazingly, the New York Review’s book imprint is bringing out a new edition.

In a 10-minute conversation with The Bookmonger, Podhoretz explains what his half-century-old book has to say to readers now, whether he was surprised by the offer to republish it, and how he became a neoconservative. He also discusses Commentary magazine, which he edited for many years, and reveals what he thinks of the performance of its current editor: his son, John Podhoretz.

We forgot to mention, but certainly should have, that there are hundreds of actors in this two and a half minute video and only about three of them are so brazen and uncool as to be white. Not least of which is the star, Kendall Jenner. Which certainly is a slap in the face to the expectations of the Democratic voters who star in the thing and for whom it was made. After all, haven’t they been promised a world in which white people have been eliminated?

With his old friend Mark Farrell, the golf pro, Jay talks Masters 2017 – the shoot-out between Sergio Garcia of Spain and Justin Rose of Britain. Also, should golf be an Olympic sport? (Rose is the reigning gold medalist – the only one there has been, in the modern era.) Also, whatsamatter with Tiger? And so on. Mark Farrell is a guru and a treat. Even the un-golf-minded might well enjoy.

It’s a special Saturday edition of the Ricochet Podcast, and it’s special not only because of the day (April Fool’s Day!), but because we get to welcome back our regulate host, TV’s Rob Long. We cover the all the news of the past six months, Peter’s quest to buy a new TV, what it’s like to take over a network TV show in mid-season, take some questions from the chat room and from the Member Feed (thanks V The K), and just have some fun. Hey, it’s Saturday.

Eliot Cohen is a leading national-security scholar and an adviser to presidents, would-be presidents, and others. His latest book is The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power & the Necessity of Military Force. Jay asks him to take a tour around the world, and he does: beginning with Mexico, moving to Europe, moving to the Far East, and the Mideast, and elsewhere. They wind up talking about the Trump administration, which includes, in senior positions, longtime friends and comrades of Cohen’s. Spend some time with Professor Cohen, and you will have a heightened view of the world: its dangers and its promises.